"Engaging the Public in Critical Disaster Planning and Decision Making is the summary of a workshop held in March 2013 to discuss the key principles of public engagement during the development of disaster plans, the response phase, and during the dissemination phase when interested community partners and the general public are informed of the policies that have been adopted. Presenters provided specific examples of resources to assist jurisdictions in planning public engagement activities as well as challenges experienced and potential solutions. This report introduces key principles of public engagement, provides practical guidance on how to plan and implement a public engagement activity, and presents tools to facilitate planning."--Publisher's description

Designed to help Red Cross units plan and build an overall community disaster education effort that will result in increased public preparedness and appropriate response in times of disaster.

Case Studies in Disaster Mitigation and Prevention: Disaster and Emergency Management: Case Studies in Adaptation and Innovation series presents cases illustrating efforts to reduce human and material losses associated with disasters. This volume demonstrates that mitigation is an ongoing phase in which communities continually pursue long-term hazard resistance and reduction. Cases illustrate the importance of risk assessment in the development of mitigation strategies through hazard mapping and multi-hazard mitigation planning. Cases also illustrate approaches to reduction risk through structural and non-structural means, giving consideration to benefits or limitations of these strategies in different contexts. The contributions of different mitigation activities to disaster risk reduction efforts are examined using the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. - Presents in-depth cases studies in disaster mitigation, one of the phases of disaster management - Unites practice and research from multiple disciplines to highlight the complexity of disaster mitigation, including environmental and earth sciences, engineering, public health, geography, sociology, and anthropology - Examines policy and ethical dilemmas faced by decision makers in disaster situations

We live in a world which experiences dramatic loss of life due to natural disasters and hazards. This comprehensive book by Rajni Sibal, formerly the additional secretary (disaster management), Government of India, outlines methods for preparing households, businesses, and commercial establishments to address the substantial risk of disasters at home, the workplace and communities at large. Rajni Sibal addresses considerations important in planning for disaster management, from cyclones, chemical spills, floods and landslides to catastrophic events. The book not only includes the procedures used by safety experts but also focuses on areas often overlooked during the reactive and post disaster periods. Packed with information, important contact details and numbers, this book contains a extensive list of the how-to's for avoiding mistakes which turn natural and man-made catastrophes into larger disasters, and makes preparing for disaster less intimidating.

Since the first edition of The Human Side of Disaster was published in 2009, new catastrophes have plagued the globe, including earthquakes in Haiti and New Zealand, tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri, floods in numerous locations, Hurricane Sandy, and the infamous BP oil spill. Enhanced with new cases and real-world examples, The Human Side of Disaster, Second Edition presents an updated summary of the social science knowledge base of human responses to disaster. Dr. Drabek draws upon his 40-plus years of conducting research on individual, group, and organizational responses to disaster to illustrate and integrate key insights from the social sciences to teach us how to anticipate human behaviors in crisis. The book begins with a series of original short stories rooted within actual disaster events. These stories are woven into the entire text to demonstrate essential findings from the research literature. Dr. Drabek provides an overview of the range of disasters and hazards confronting the public and an explanation of why these are increasing each year, both in number and scope of impact. The core of the book is a summary of key findings regarding disaster warning responses, evacuation behavior, initial post-impact survival behavior, traditional and emergent roles of volunteers, and both short-term and longer-term disaster impacts. The theme of "organized-disorganization" is used to illustrate multiorganizational response networks that form the key managerial task for local emergency managers. The final chapter provides a new vision for the emergency management profession—one that reflects a more strategic approach wherein disasters are viewed as non-routine social problems. This book will continue to be an invaluable reference for professionals and students in emergency management and public policy and aid organizations who need to understand human behavior and how best to communicate and work with the public in disaster situations.